[NME results!]

I was just thinking of this!  I thought it'd still be early. Off to notify my friend who will receive the results.

[What extracurricular activities have your kids loved?]

My boys have fallen in love with waterpolo.  Not organized, but their friends do Nerf warfare every weekend with their own weapon creations---this has been a favorite of theirs for years.  

[Lularoe... Can someone explain]

It's been a fun craze.  You can really do well holding a party.  Most of the groups I'm in, when you host a party, ALL the people in that group are shopping as well.  I was recently a co-host and between the two of us, I even got three free items--I think she had more since more of her personal guests ordered.  Was just in a party where the hostess received 5 free items.  It's a rather interesting business plan and can be a lot of fun in finding that perfect pattern/style.  I've found that in their maxi skirts, I can wear three different sizes comfortably, so it opens a lot of options. 

[What kind of pizza stone is good? Do they contain lead?]

I've been using my Pampered Chef stones for almost 20 year with no breaks. I normally cook pizza at 425 or 450 depending on the crust. I have considered getting a BGE stone because I wouldn't trust my Pampered Chef Stone on the grill where heat is more difficult to control and could get too high.

 

Haven't ready through all the comments, but Pampered Chef just came out with a grill stone.  It's really nice and can be used over 400 degrees, and on direct heat even.  It's pretty nice, we just don't have a grill to try it on.  As for the stones cracking, you have to be aware of thermal shock.  So it will crack if it comes out of the oven and in contact with something cold.  We lost our 16 year old bar pan when I used a metal spatula on it from my freezing kitchen.  It was a beautiful, well-seasoned stone too.

[Greek 101]

Has anyone tried this yet? My son has been wanting to take Classical Greek, but the time zone difference with Lukeion just didn't work out. I'm wondering if this would be a good alternative.

http://www.thegreatcourses.com/courses/greek-101-learning-an-ancient-language.html

[Resources for Finnish?]

Look to see if you have a local Finnish American club. (I know there's one in Tucson). I have a friend who gave lessons. It is crazy difficult though.

[Are there any online Shakespeare classes for teens?]

Not a class but the Shakespeare Undercover series is very good at background info and a look into the plays.

[Is there a couch to 5k for overweight/out of shape people?]

I use the ease into 5K app. I was horribly out of shape snd overweight when I first did it two years ago and HATED running. After three months, and just a couple weeks after running my first 5K, I ran a half marathon. I kept running the same week until I felt comfortable and made progress.

 

Good luck and have fun. It's an amazing program and really works. (It's also something I need to do again.)

[Aging parent issues]

From my grandparents' experience, rather than moving her into an apartment, I'd look into assisted living with Alheimers unit. My grandma had her own "apartment" but was looked in on and had meal service available as well as recreational facilities. When her dementia became too much, she was moved into an IDENTICAL room where care and supervision was 24/7. She was so gone, she didn't realize anything had changed, because everything was the same.

 

Wishing you the best of luck and hoping you can get it all worked out.

[Your go-to remedies at the first sign of a cold?]

Hot toddy. I use an Asian citrus tea, very yummy. At night, I'll add a shot of whisky.

[School orchestra field trip to Italy???]

Good points.

 

I was surprized that in Tuscany, the tour skipped the Uffizzi, but included a cooking class. That kind of thing. Skip the Coliseum in Rome, but visit a gelato factory. Huh? In another place they see a farm. Honestly, I am puzzled.

I don't know if it's the same with European tours, but here in Asia, factory tours are ALWAYS part of trips as they help subsidize the cost. (Some of these stops have been worthwhile, others have been down right stupid.). I wonder if that's where some of those stops come into play. As much as the art and history are important, I would think kids might enjoy an authentic cooking class. I took a tour in high school to Paris and it was one of the best experiences ever.

[What is all this about students being required to take "Pre-AP" courses of the same subject before the course?]

I am baffled by the AP courses today, particularly in the sciences. Why repeat courses? Why not do DE instead? I personally think there are too many AP courses today. If everything is AP, why not just go straight to community college?

[Which Roald Dahl books are clean and safe?]

Roald Dahl was how I managed to get my boys to enjoy fiction and start reading "real" books.  His stories are so twisted and fun and outrageous.  Matilda is one of my absolute favorites, but one of my best memories from school was our second grade teacher reading James and the Giant Peach.  I suppose they aren't for everyone though.

[using technology for projects/presentations]

My son did a couple classes at the high school last year, and I'm pretty sure he only used Power Point.  I'd agree with being familiar with that one.  That said, my kids are better at Power Point than I am.  They're self-taught and have a lot of fun putting presentations together.  My youngest has even done primitive animation via PP.

[Animal study]

My son is teaching a zoology co-op based off of this series and some other materials.

 

[Swedish?]

Thank you for all the suggestions! I'll be checking the links. Wish I had thought of checking a college bookstore while in the states. I have looked at Ikea. Sadly, all the books are in Japanese. I actually found a free bi-lingual story book for free on Amazon last night, so that was something.

[Swedish?]

My son has been doing Swedish with Duolingo and really enjoying it. Are there any other resources for learning the language?

[Can you drive a stick shift/manual car?]

I put maybe, but it wouldn't be pretty. I had to learn when we lived in Italy, so I could drive to the base to catch a train to Venice to meet my husband. That was motivation enough, and the last time I tried.

[Disney pros?]

Which park?

[Hotel in San Francisco?]

We stayed here over the summer.  And it was great!  It's in San Jose, but right at the junction of the 101 and 880 so it makes it very accessible to both the east bay and San Francisco.  I'd check out UC Santa Cruz too, such an amazing campus.  So long as there isn't a football game in town, you should be good.  There's also a Target and several, better-quality fast food eateries within walking distance.

[For gamers who love World History!]

My boys are Age of Empires fans.

[Shakespeare on Audio, what I'm looking for...]

Second Smart Pass

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B002UUDFB4/ref=mp_s_a_1_17?qid=1440391250&sr=1-17&refinements=p_n_feature_browse-bin%3A1240885011&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&keywords=shakespeare+julius+caesar&dpPl=1&dpID=51Z2EOf18ZL&ref=plSrch

 

DS listened to Romeo and Juliet and we'll be doing Julius Ceasar this week.

[Best online calendar? iPhone?]

Yes, you can upload from the computer.

[Best online calendar? iPhone?]

You can sync Cozi with some other calendars--Gmail I know. I just can't remember how to do it. I've got it on my desktop too.

[Best online calendar? iPhone?]

Cozi! I have accounts for the kids too and am trying to teach them to add their stuff as well. Love the shopping list feature--which my kids have learned to use. ;)